As a professor and researcher, Dr. Gail Kemp is contributing to the development of the next generation of clinical psychologists and working to break down barriers to accessing quality mental health care.
Dr. Kemp, assistant professor of clinical psychology in Mercer University’s College of Health Professions, holds a bachelor’s degree in African American studies from Harvard University and a master’s degree in public health and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Boston University. She was a faculty member at the University of Scranton before coming to Mercer in 2021.
Growing up, Dr. Kemp may not have known she was headed toward a career in psychology, but her loved ones did.
“If you were to ask folks who knew me my whole life, they will say it was a journey I was always on unbeknownst to me. From an early age, thinking through why people did what they did was a constant companion to me. It was the way my mind worked,” she said.
Coming from a predominantly Black community, psychology and mental health were underrecognized, as were careers in these areas, Dr. Kemp said. As she worked with youth on empowerment, she started to see how trauma impacted them, which led her to obtain additional skills to address the psychological well-being of young people.
As a licensed psychologist, one of Dr. Kemp’s focus areas is factors that influence the psychological well-being of youth and families. She conducted a study on African American parent perspectives on behavioral interventions and has worked with predominantly Black congregations on projects related to mental health literacy and addressing misunderstandings and myths about mental health.
She also uses her background in cognitive behavioral therapy to address approaches to anti-racism activism, work that she began in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and has continued at Mercer. Dr. Kemp serves on the board of advisors for the Black American Research and Behavior Therapy Special Interest Group, a special interest group of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and as a board member for Atlanta mental health facility Hillside.
In 2022, Dr. Kemp was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration for a chronic pain management program to train Mercer clinical psychology doctoral students in evidence-based cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain. Since then, 27 students have received advanced training in this area and provided free clinical care to people in rural communities who are at high risk of developing opioid use disorders.
“(Cognitive behavioral therapy) for chronic pain teaches clients how to recognize and adjust unhelpful patterns in thinking and in their actions related to chronic pain,” Dr. Kemp said. “It is provided in a group setting so clients not only gain skills to combat unhelpful patterns, but they also find a supportive community of people with shared experiences with persistent pain.”
Dr. Kemp said the 10-week sessions with patients have shown “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” results. Participants saw a significant reduction in catastrophic thoughts about pain and pain interference, which refers to how pain interferes with a person’s functionality and life enjoyment.
The project also includes a community education seminar series that provides information on factors related to chronic pain, treatment and social determinants. Renewed funding has been requested to continue this work.
Dr. Kemp is passionate about policy and initiatives that improve access to mental health care services, and she wants to help increase public awareness of evidence-based treatment that is available.
“My main aim is to be involved in research as well as service work that decreases barriers to accessing quality mental health care. Psychological interventions shouldn’t be siloed or have gatekeepers keeping folks away from it,” she said.
Dr. Kemp said seeing her students grow is one of her biggest joys. Helping them transition from psychology students to colleagues is a unique and exciting opportunity.
“One of my main goals and passions is to contribute to the development of excellent future clinical psychologists who are committed to lifelong learning and culturally competent, evidence-based care for the clients that they will serve,” she said. “They are a large part of my ‘why’ in terms of why I do what I do. Development has always excited me. I love seeing the building blocks be put in place and seeing those ‘aha!’ moments.”
